Cocoa Butter

Cocoa butter is the most important fat in confectionery; it is also among the most expensive and most difficult to control. One unique quality of cocoa butter is its narrow melting range, which is just below normal human body temperature; cocoa butter remains solid up to a temperature very close to its melting point, and then melts rapidly. This is why even at a warm room temperature, chocolate remains crisp, yet melts rapidly in the mouth. Cocoa butter is capable of setting in several different crystal forms, making it relatively difficult to work with. (See Polymorphism of Cocoa Butter.) It is also costly because it must be pressed from cocoa beans, themselves an expensive commodity. Aside from its use in chocolate, cocoa butter may be added to some confection centers to improve shortness and firmness.